MTL - Tomb Raider: Storytelling and Writing, The Mystic Nine is Confused - Chapter 50

“Destiny is a matter of Choice not Chance,

It is not a thing to be waited for but a thing to be Achieved”

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The story sets in a mana blessed world, Planet Vermillion, where every being possesses a System.

At the edge of his life, Zero, a man without a System, finally loses everything and embraces his death with a tired yet relieved expression.

As if by fate, the owner of the system approaches Zero through a screen and gives him a chance to connect with the System, however Zero denies it in exchange for a chance to change or undo all the mistakes he has done in his life.

The owner of the System accepts Zero’s wishes but at a certain price and sends Zero back into the past.

Still without a System, but with the knowledge of the future and various skills honed over the years, Zero begins his new journey to change everything he could.

Save everyone who needs to be saved and kill everyone who needs to be killed.

However, the more he moves forward, the more he realises that the ‘truths’ which he had known in his previous life are much more complicated than what they seem.

Balancing his previous beliefs and the new found mysteries that could shatter his perspective, he still keeps moving forward despite things getting more chaotic with every step.

As if fate itself wanted him to fall, an unknown disaster approaches him from behind and a familiar screen comes in front of him

[Ummm… Zero. It might be a bit late but… Looks like I have messed up big time]

Penance is a prison of eternal damnation for those who go against the will of the gods.Growing up in the slums of District Nine, Nacht was like every other individual his age, struggling to survive with what little he had and blaming the capital for it. But unlike everyone else, he had been lucky. He still had a mother who cared for him deeply and did everything she could to help him succeed. However, that all changed when his mother was offered up as a sacrifice to the capital to help bolster the number of Enlightened in their arsenal.The Enlightened were elite warriors who wielded supernatural powers and served their respected clan at the cost of sacrificing an individual for the opportunity to enter Penance and be bestowed or awakening a rune, the source of their profound power.Having been exposed to the worst of humanity due to the horrific execution of his mother, Nacht developed a relentless ambition to change the world—even if it was in his own unconventional way.After performing a disgraceful ritual, Nacht is sent into Penance, where he becomes one of the Enlightened and is bestowed a mysterious power along with an insidious punishment.

Bai Chuan has a particularly powerful ability, he can take apart everything in the world as a model and choose the best ability structure to give to himself.

If he was born in a mythical world, given him a period of time, he would be able to overthrow the heavens and the world, become an immortal and become an ancestor.

If he was born in a world with extraordinary monsters and beasts, given him a period of time, he could also become the strongest beast, called invincible and immortal.

It’s a pity…he was born in an ordinary world of low martial arts.

“The water in this world is too shallow to raise real dragons…” He looked at the sky and muttered to himself.

Since real dragons cannot be raised in shallow water, wouldn’t it be better to make the pond deeper?

- Description from novelbuddy

Li Yanchu transmigrated into a strange world of martial arts, Daoist spells, ghosts, and monsters, only to land in the body of a young Daoist at the rundown Qingyun Temple. Just across the street? A rowdy inn run by a stunningly seductive innkeeper. Life could be worse.Gifted with the mysterious Decree of Bestowal, Li Yanchu can transform ordinary herbs into century-old divine medicine, giving him an unparalleled advantage in cultivation. With this cheat-like ability, he advances rapidly in cultivation, despite being told he had no talent for it.But cultivation isn’t his only path forward.After slaying a ghost and earning merit points, he realizes there’s more to this world than martial arts. Hidden behind the scenes is a karma-based system, one that rewards righteous deeds.As his saber technique grows sharper by the day, Li Yanchu finds himself entangled in eerie mysteries, deadly encounters, and strange happenings in Wei City…Now, with the authorities pounding on his doors, Li Yanchu’s peaceful days of tea and training might just be over.Ghosts. Bandits. Cultivation. A cheat system tied to karma. When the mortal world and the supernatural collide, only one Daoist stands between chaos and order.